"Driving in Qatar is Like Participating in an Extreme Sport"
As if you needed reminding: It's dangerous out there. And if your parents' warnings that the world is full of malevolent people and mishap-prone places didn't stick, the State Department is ready to fill the void.
From the spectacular to the mundane, while terrorism grabs headlines, most problems faced by Americans abroad have nothing to do with al-Qaida but rather cutthroat con artists, corrupt officers and dismal drivers.
Thus, the department's Overseas Security Advisory Council places heavy emphasis on local motoring mores in the reports.
In the oil-rich Gulf nation of Qatar, the population of fewer than 900,000 racks up an astounding 70,000 traffic accidents per year, its report says.
"Drivers often maneuver erratically and at high speed, demonstrate little road discipline or courtesy, fail to turn on their headlights during hours of darkness or inclement weather, and do not use seat belts," it says.
Source: AP, seen on MSNBC.COM
Qatarsucks.com comments: Could this relate to Qataris who think they don't have to yield at roundabouts? Or Qataris who think nothing of flashing their Range Rover high beams at you while they creep up behind at dangerous speeds? Qataris who think they are better than everyone on the road because they have larger vechicles and are immune from any responsibility? Qatar sucks and you don't even need to get out of your car to know this.
Comments
Republished Comments in Reaction to this Story
Disrespectful drivers
Submitted by Completely Anonymous on Fri, 2007-04-13 07:49.
I have lived in Qatar for the last five years and the traffic has gotten worse. With all of the diversions due to road construction, the drivers are all over the place, they DO NOT adhere to the laws of the road and are very disrespectful.
I feel the main problem is, is that the traffic rules are not enforced. the only time a traffic cop is seen is at an accident. They are REACTIVE and not PROACTIVE.
Since drivers are not stopped for reckless driving they continue to do it until they are invloved in an accident and unfortunately injure or kill inocent drivers.
» reply
"Die Sister F.....ers Die"
Submitted by Completely Anonymous on Sun, 2007-04-15 14:23.
That is what I cheer when I pass another wrecked Land Cruiser. I hate these animals. Never racist before, but after five years of screaming at these useless and arrogant assholes I now find a sick enjoyment in their roadside trauma.
I have what I want from these pigs, exit plans now in motion.
Three cheers for this website !!!
» reply
Well done to this
Submitted by Completely Anonymous on Mon, 2007-04-16 04:04.
Well done to this site...
fantastic site to show how ignorent and stupid the qataris are. I lived here for 2 years. The worst two years of my life. people are so disrespectful at all levels, from the ordinary guy in the street (if there is such thing as ordinary Qatari guy in the street!) to the most influential guy in authority in Qatari. They are extremely greedy, however, they believe that all foreigners are here to take their wealth....... what a joke.
» reply
Visited for 2 weeks
Submitted by Completely Anonymous on Mon, 2007-04-30 13:19.
Visited my brother who is working there. Traffic was frightening. Big trucks ignoring the lines in the round-abouts, maniacs in robes who drive through the round-abouts instead of around them, tailgaters honking and flashing lights behind you. My brother says they are trying to encourage tourism to Qatar. This isn't the way to go about it. The average emotional age of most of the people behind the wheel, seems to be about 8 years old. No one will let you merge, and total lack of courtesy on the road.
I'm told that if you get in an accident with a Qatari, you are automatically at fault.
Doha isn't very big but getting around is pretty much impossible, even with a fancy GPS. There is no signage, major roads just suddenly end and detour you into another dead end sub-division. The GPS spent most of it's time saying "recalculating", and I spent most of my time saying something significantly more rude.
Until they decide to be civilized, no one is going there for a vacation. There isn't really anything to see, and you can't sit at the beach and drink Pina Colada.
If you're planning a vacation, go somewhere else.
» reply
So True
Submitted by Completely Anonymous on Sat, 2007-05-05 11:10.
We have gotten in a few car accidents with our qatari brothers and sisters all of which were caused by them. And guess who got the ticket? The AMERICAN expatriate.
» reply
and i thought i was over-reacting...
Submitted by Completely Anonymous on Sun, 2007-05-06 15:15.
i think i'm quite a level-headed person, i am not easy to judge, especially when i'm a guest at someone's place. been here for almost 6 months, but since discovering and reading your site (just thought of googling qatar sucks big time :o) i am convinced that i am not the one who's bonkers here, something really wrong is going on around here, man, like some festering malaise, that's making me think twice of staying for a year even.
» reply
Many thing need to change ...
Submitted by Completely Anonymous on Sun, 2007-05-06 21:06.
... the driving is just one on the list.
In the 13 months I have been here, one thing is apparent Qatari's couldn't organise an Iftar feast in a ramadan tent. They are as useless as a chocolate teapot.
Yup, I love the comment of cheering yet another dumb qatari land cruiser crash, it's just the poor people thye hit I feel sorry for ...
... the times they are a changing!
CAMELS THATS ALL THEY SHOULD RIDE
WELL WHAT ELSE TO SAY AM SURE ALL OF US WHO HAVE BEEN IN DOHA KNOW THAT THESE ASS HOLES HAVE JUMPED DIRECTLY FROM CAMELS TO FOURWHEELS THE LINK IS MISSING AND THATS THE REASON FOR ALL THESE ACCIDENTS AND MIND YOU WITH THE NEW TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS AND THE NEW POINT SYSTEM IS ALL FOR THE EXPATS NOT FOR THESE MORON QATARIS WHO THINK ITS THEIR RIGHT TO DRIVE TOO FUCKED UP AND BEYOND REPAIR THATS ALL THAT THIS STATE OF QATAR IS
no body ass hole in this
no body ass hole in this world expect you. mother fucker.
IT IS OUR COUNTRY, IT IS OUR LAND, AND IT IS UP TOO US TO DO WHATEVER WE WANT. IF YOU DONT LIKE IT JUST GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE.
WE LOVE QATAR UNTILL DEATH.
you moron to begin with its
you moron to begin with its not a country its a state and the country i come from has 27 states so we are 27 times bigger then you and ass hole you are not worth a dirt we are here hence your economy is so high coz other then sitting on your big fat ass and driving around doha you cant do a shit and yes you can become a land lord and ask for exorbitant rents but dont worry things are about to change and verry soon you will see it happen as all you motherfuckers are fucking hypocrates of first degree shame to call you an islamic state
grow up
An attitude like this will not get you far in life! No one should be able to "do whatever they want". Everyone should always be considerate of others. Grow up!!!!!!!!!!
LOL!
What do you expect from camel riders who switched to Landcruisers and obtain their driving license by WASTA?
near miss with 5 month old...
I barely managed to avoid a Qatari driving recklessly. The scary thing was I had my 5 month old baby in the back seat of my car and the prick showed complete disregard for the 'baby on board'sign -- Perhaps he can't read english as I am told most qatari's are uneducated in english. I managed to get the Land Cruiser's license plate number (302010). How do I report this reckless driving?
get out of that country
It won't serve you any purpose to report anything
pack your bags and run for your dear life
LIFE DEAR??
HOW DARE MAN SAYS THINGS LIKE THIS IN MY COUNTRY? HUH??? NEXT TIME I SEE, I WILL BRING ALL MY FRIENDS AND THEY WILL MAKE YUOUUU RUN AND PACK HUH??? WALLAH WALLAH. HAVE YOU EVER MAKE HUMMER (H2!!!!! 500 HORSE POWER V8, SPECIAL EDITION) GO OVER YOUR FACE BECAUSE MY COUSIN MAKE EVERYDAY WITH YOU FILIPINO INDIAN POOR SHIT. YOUR WOMEN PUSSY ARE SOOO CHEAP, CHEAPEST I PAY FOR. IF U MAKE PROBLEM WITH ME GIVE ME MOBILE AND YOU WILL SEE.
LONG LIVE KING OF KING GREATNESS QATAR
PBUH MOHAMED
I SAYS THINGS LIKE THIS IN YOUR COUNTRY
wow, either you translated that from directly from arabic, or you can't speak english to save your worthless life. special edition hummer? no shit. you must be special. its good to see that indian/filipino (what a combo) pussy is cheap, after all paying for pussy is a hassel (poor you). btw turn caps off, it doesnt make your message more threatening, it only makes you look stupider (which is pretty hard seeing as you set the bar pretty high to begin with).
Growing up there
I moved to qatar when I was 5 and I left when I was 15. Growing up there was like trying to get blood from a stone, alota work with no results. Its taken me this long to work out that it just sucks there! beening a white teenager there was difficult. wanting to do what normal teenagers do. drink, smoke, party. nearly impossible. i support this site fully and all its views.
don't go to qatar
I thought moving to Qatar was going to be a good thing for me my husband and son. We thought living in a muslim state would be great with kind people, safe environment and so on. BOY WERE WE IN FOR A SHOCK!!! This is the least islamic state I have ever been too. The people are the worst kind you can find. The amount of times these idiots run us off the road was insane. The ladies in the mall look down at you, the men think your a prostitute, its shocking. I am a British Muslim and I am sorry to say I am ashamed of the Qataris and Qatar. In the entire time we were there we did not meet 1 decent Qatari. They are all scum. It makes me laugh that they think so highly of themselves, just look as them... Need i say more. We escaped from this hell hole and we never intend to return. FOR ANYONE THINKING OF MOVING OR VISITING THIS DUMP, MUSLIM OR NOT... DONT WASTE YOUR TIME, THERE ARE FAR BETTER PLACES WITH KINDER PEOPLE IN THE WORLD TO GO TO!
don't go to qatar part 2
wallah wallah, are' you really surprised? you knew That coming to qatar is not like living in UK right?
why did you come? to make some tax free money? you could have stayed in UK right?
it is really the fault of qataris or your own fault that you did not read www.qatarsucks.com
Or maybe it is the fault of the website owner (who is a great man walla walla) and maybe he should put qatarsucks on top of the google search engines.
whatever it is, qatar has always a bad reputation so like anything in life, LET THE BUYER BEWARE.
Long live freedom
long live democracy
QATAR SHOULD BE ON THE AXIS OF EVIL LIKE NORTH KOREA, IRAN AND IRAQ
Arabs are king?
You know, many Qataris that I spoken to seems to think that foreigners need to come to their country to do work. Yes, I agree with many articles here that says Qataris are lazy but that is an understatement. They are not lazy. They are a stupid lazy cow. They can do nothing by themselves. No matter what anybody will post here, they are useless.
How can you say you are great when your population is only 30% and the workers made up 70%? You don't do work , period. If the Qataris want to prove a point, remove the exit permit. Then see how m any of the 70% workers will flow outward. Then see who will do your dirty work. Who will clean your toilet? See how proud you are then. Remember, you depend on foreigner no matter what. You are just a useless little country with oil.
Qatarsucks
I lived in that hell hole for 3 years putting up with their shit driving, arrogant atitude, staring at my wife like she was a piece of meat in Carrefour, even had to smack one of the ***** for slapping my wifes arse.
Have any of you lived in Jordan?
Wow, your complaints sound like mine in Jordan. The people drive like they have autism, meaning that they are in their own little world and it's up to the rest of us to prevent MVAs. There is no such thing as a line - like their driving, if they pretend that they do not see you then they think that they can do whatever they want. We attend an international school here where many students are affluent and have chaeuffers and are raised by nannies. The moms are merely incubators and leave the raising to Philippinos who have no authority over these children. These children are ill behaved, disrespectful and simply obnoxious. My daughter has been harassed and sexually harassed with little true discipline from the administration. She's going elsehwhere next year. I am counting down my days to when we depart and know that I will never be in this part of the world again. i am trying hard to place those kind Jordanians that I have met in the forefront of my memory but with the bad expereinces we have had hereit's difficult. I can only sum it all up as if these kids are the future of Jordan then God help Jordan.
Fight fire with Fire
I think with all the suffering 3rd world peeps have to endure, there will come a time when patience will run out. And evil ideas will spring out from the oppresed. The best way to fight evil is to be much evil than the oppresor. MAFIA style. Nothing is impossible.
Post new comment